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AT&T hikes rates on smartphone plans

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The mobile data our smartphones love to suck up is once again going up in price.

AT&T on Wednesday hiked rates on its smartphone and tablet data plans. The new rates will go into effect on Sunday, but only new customers will be affected. Those under contract will keep their current rates. AT&T said that existing customers will not be required to switch to the new rates, even if they upgrade their phones.

The wireless giant raised the cost of its lowest-tier data package to $20 per month, up from $15 -- a 33% price hike. AT&T (T, Fortune 500) offered a carrot alongside the stick: It increased the amount of data in that plan to 300 megabytes per month, up from 200 MB.

In the low-tier plan, the extra megabytes will give users access to about an hour more of streaming video, or 300 more posts to social media sites.

AT&T's higher-tier plan was also hiked to $30 a month, up from $25 -- a 20% increase. Those users will now get 3 gigabytes of data per month. Under the old plan, they only got 2 GB of data.

For tablets like Apple's (AAPL, Fortune 500) iPad, customers can choose between a $15 per month plan for 250 MB, a $30 a month plan for 3 GB or a $50 a month plan for 5 GB. (See correction below).

AT&T said it will notify customers as they approach their data limits. It will charge a $20 overage fee for an extra 300 MB for the low-tier plans, and $10 per extra GB on the higher-tiered plans.

Some analysts predict that a significant number customers will be angry enough about the new rates that they'll leave AT&T for a competitor.

"We think the timing of these changes places AT&T at risk of significantly increasing churn, before AT&T has significant 4G coverage to match Verizon," said Kevin Smithen, analyst at Macquarie Capital, in a note to investors Thursday morning.

"Our new plans are driven by this increasing demand in a highly competitive environment," David Christopher, AT&T Mobility's chief marketing officer, said in a prepared statement.

Christopher called AT&T's new plans a "great value." Compared to its chief rival, it certainly looks that way. Verizon only offers 2 GB for the same $30 a month and does not have a low-tier offering for smartphones.

But it's clear that smartphone customers' data needs are exploding. That means that one way or another, most will eventually pay more for their monthly service.